Austin Retail | Monthly Market Snapshot | September 2018

Occupancy rises to 96.1%. Austin’s retail market year-to-date occupancy rate rose to 96.1%, after three consecutive months at 95.9%. Year-to-date the market has recorded 1.2 million sq. ft. of net absorption, while new supply is level with demand, delivering 1.3 million sq. ft. to the market so far this year. Of the 54 properties with 870,810 sq. ft. currently under construction, half (50.2%) of that space is available for lease. Meanwhile, there have been 50 deals since this time last month, 5,000 sq. ft. and over, accounting for 125,366 sq. ft. of leasing activity. The average asking rate of renting retail space decreased slightly by $0.05 to $22.00 per sq. ft. on a triple net basis, from $22.05 at this time in August.

Investment sales down year-to-date through July. According to Real Capital Analytics, investment sales of retail properties in the Austin area totaled $391.2 million, down -47.3% from one year ago as investors are having a difficult time selecting assets to acquire in Austin. Private investors have been the most active buyer type for 2018, comprising 73.0% of Austin’s total sales volume, followed by institutional buyers representing 24.0%.

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